The present invention relates to “nightlight” type lighting fixtures. Moreover, the present invention relates to lighting apparatus for providing therapeutic effects on the human body and mind.
Human eyes are sensitive to light in a very small region of the electromagnetic spectrum labeled “visible light”. This visible light range corresponds to a wavelength of approximately 400-700 nanometers (nm) and a color spectrum of violet through red. As reflected in FIG. 4, the visible colors from shortest to longest wavelength are violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red.
It has long been recognized that light can have profound psychological as well as physiological effects on the human body. An example of a human organ whose regulatory function is responsive to light is the pineal gland which secretes the hormone melatonin. The hormone is released during periods of darkness, while production is abruptly halted when the eyes perceive bright light. Melatonin is distributed throughout the body via the blood and cerebrospinal fluid and can affect the function of organs by which it is metabolized to influence sleep cycles, feeding cycles, reproduction cycles and other biological rhythms. It has therefore been suggested that phototherapy may effectively be employed to correct melatonin imbalances and correct sleep cycles which may have been altered from stress, jet lag, life in the polar regions, or changes in the sleep pattern.
Additionally, it has been found that some of the body's responses to light are acutely dependant on specific characteristics of the light such as the light's wavelength and intensity. Further, it has been determined that particular bodily responses can be produced or enhanced by varying the light's characteristics according to certain sequences or patterns. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,598 describes an apparatus for providing a phototherapy method where various isolated electromagnetic energy patterns are directed to an observer's eyes in an effort to induce a state of homeostasis.
Various attempts have been made to develop lighting apparatus in the home for inducing sleep or wake-up. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,236,622 describes a nightlight type lighting fixture which incorporates an alarm clock. Moreover, the lighting fixture provides lamp modes including a wake-up cycle and a sleep cycle which gradually increase and decrease according to the desires of the user. U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,941 discloses a travel alarm clock including a lamp, a speaker and an ion generator for producing ionized air. The device is intended to induce sleep and wake cycles by varying the lamp, sound and ion levels. Numerous references including U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,954,629; 5,259,830 and 5,242,376 describe masks or goggles for producing light in specific frequency ranges for inducing sleep. Still additional references including U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,610 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,133 disclose apparatus for inducing sleep which include biological monitors for monitoring brainwaves or respiration.
Unfortunately, prior art devices do not provide a natural environment lamp for use in the bedroom which produces light in specific frequency ranges and modes so as to provide therapeutic effects to enhance sleep readiness, sleep help and wake-up.